Man Utd midfielder Herrera: Real Madrid are 'most powerful team'

The 27-year-old Spain worldwide has grown in leaps and bounds since joining from Athletic Bilbao back in 2014, and was a vital player last season for Mourinho, making 50 appearances and winning the club's Player of the Year awards as a reward for his inspired performances.

Another United transfer narrative, surrounding the talks to acquire Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, has been discussed at length the past couple days.

Spaniard Herrera, who featured in Saturday's 5-2 friendly win over LA Galaxy and afterwards dismissed links to Barcelona, is particularly looking forward to August's Super Cup meeting in Skopje.

Herrera also talked about his worldwide teammate Alvaro Morata who was strongly linked with United before the Red Devils signed Romelu Lukaku.

"Of course I wanted to have Morata as a team-mate, he was very close because the two clubs negotiated", he continued. "Of course, playing against Madrid is a good test for us", Herrera told reporters.

"Getting back into the Champions League was crucial for the club, we'll be one of the teams to beat. We are a strong team with a winning coach".

"But David is one of the few goalkeepers who gives you points so I'm going to do my best to keep him here".

The midfielder's contract expires next summer, so Mourinho is keen to seal the deal as quickly as possible.